Reading the post about the wooden spoon found in the river and how it was in good shape despite being immersed in river water for years brought to mind the following. My two sons aged eight and six asked me if I would take them to the site of the Battle of Mine Creek, about sixty miles away and one morning early, one son taking his Christmas present Metal Detector, a very basic one. To my amazement they started getting "readings" and dug up a CW belt plate (buckle). Thru the morning they found some minie balls and pistol balls. All in all a good morning.
When we got home I washed the belt buckle with mild soap and rinsed it well. I was astonished that the leather pieces, the one attached to the buckle on the two studs and the other end with the holes in it for adjustment were still attached to the buckle. All other leather was gone. It was as if someone had taken a straight razor or a razor sharp knife and cut all around the peremiter of the buckle leaving the two ends on. It was unbelievable this buckle had been in the ground a hundred and fifteen or twenty years or so and the leather still in great shape. After the leather dried I ran a shoe shine brush over it several times and there was still "gloss" on it. I wrote what I'm writing here to an Antique Magazine I subscribed to and they published my letter.
I only got one answer and it was that the chemical action between the brass of the buckle and the tanning agent of the leather had kept the leather tips good all those years. All the other leather deteriorated to nothing. What say you experts?
Further I knoweth not. Thanks for any opinions.
